After launching an upgraded “Premium” version of the Model 3 sedan and Model Y SUV, Tesla has also introduced a stripped-down “Standard” version of its two core models. They now list at $5,000 less in the US: $36,990 for the Model 3 Standard and $39,990 for the Model Y Standard.
Prices for Europe have not been published yet, but could theoretically drop as low as €35,000 for the Model 3 and under €40,500 for the Y, if built in Berlin. However, that’s unlikely to happen anytime soon for both of them.
Disappointment
In America, the initial reactions to the new ‘budget’ Teslas are rather disappointing. The price cut is meaningful, but it is insufficient to compensate for the now-expired $7,500 US federal EV incentive that ended a week ago. And it is still far from the $25,000 car that Elon Musk had promised for years.
Overall, Tesla’s ‘budget’ versions are not entirely new models as investors hoped, but rather carefully pared-down variants of existing models, with features trimmed to lower the effective cost.
Stripped off comfort features
What new buyers still receive for the lower price in the Standard version is a single-motor rear-wheel drive model with a slightly shorter EPA range of 321 miles (517 km), compared to the 327-357 miles of the now-called Premium versions, formerly known as the Long Range.
Basic safety, structural integrity, and fundamental EV components (battery, motor, chassis) remain, as do comfort features like heated front seats and steering wheel. However, Standard trims lose more advanced suspension systems with passive dampers instead of more sophisticated or frequency-adaptive systems.
In the cockpit, they retain a 15.4-inch central screen with Tesla’s software and voice assistant. They still get a simpler adaptive cruise control lacking ‘Autosteer’, the more advanced lane-centering.
The Model Y Standard loses the rear passenger screen for rear-seat infotainment and associated ‘air wave’ ventilation, replaced with simpler vents and USB-C ports.
Open glass roof covered
The glass roof structure in the Model Y is internally covered with a conventional headliner and sound-deadening material, eliminating the ‘open glass’ feeling. The Model 3 Standard is somewhat less aggressively stripped and is reportedly equipped with a panoramic glass roof.
The rear seats in Y Standard models lose power folding and adjustment capabilities. The steering column adjustment may be manual rather than powered.
On the exterior, the continuous LED light bars at the front and rear are removed in the Model Y Standard. Simpler LED headlights are typically without adaptive lighting control, such as dynamic high beams. Exterior mirror controls are downgraded: mirrors may be manually folded. Standard trims get smaller wheels (18-inch).
Inside, many surfaces that were initially made from high-end materials are now downgraded to textile inserts, replacing full vegan leather. Ambient lighting is removed, and the number of speakers in the sound system is reduced. The standard trims reportedly also remove FM/AM radio capability.
Impact on European prices?
Many of these features are ‘nice to have’ comfort features. Removing them cuts costs significantly. Tesla’s announcements indicate that the new ‘Standard’ versions will be marketed globally, including in Europe. But no price indications are given.
Taking into account import costs, VAT, homologation, and European safety and emissions standards, the ‘price premium’ over the US is likely substantial. The Model 3 RWD is currently listed at €39,990 in Belgium, while the Model Y base variant starts at €45,990.
Tesla could introduce a ‘Standard’ variant priced slightly below that, at around €36,000 to €38,000, if costs allow. But the room is narrower than in the US forecasts. At those prices already, Tesla can’t remove too many visible, customer-valued features without pushback.
Currently, only the Model Y is built in Tesla’s Berlin factory in Germany, which avoids import taxes and overseas shipping costs. The Model 3 is constructed exclusively in the US or Shanghai.
If Berlin were to build the new ‘Standard’ versions as well, that could bring the prices down by at least three to five thousand euros further, into the €35,000 to €36,500 range for the Model 3 or €40,500 to €42,000 range for the Model Y. Enough to allow a Model 3 to compete head-on with the VW ID.3 Pro or MG4 Luxury, for instance.
Producing in Berlin?
Although Tesla has made no public announcements about producing the new stripped-down versions in Europe yet, a Canadian media site quotes a plant manager as saying that Model Y Standard production will begin ‘in a few weeks’ at Giga Berlin. If true, this is a strong signal that Tesla intends to assemble in Europe.
Tesla is reportedly preparing Gigafactory Berlin for a ‘European takeover’ of production for the new Model Y design, ensuring that Europe is supplied from Berlin rather than relying entirely on exports.
Adapting the factory for the new Standard trims of the Model Y should be relatively easy. However, also producing the Model 3 requires new tooling, which is less likely.
The planned expansion of Berlin’s site to add logistics and increased capacity has faced delays, local opposition, and regulatory hurdles so far and remains under negotiation. So it won’t be any time soon anyway.
